Faculty members from the General Education Department of the College of Arts and Sciences started the academic year on a positive note with their active participation in the recently concluded 10-day training-workshop titled “Resonance: Struggles and Strengths in the Pandemic Classroom – Review-Reflect-Retool-Re-equip” held last August 16 to 20 and August 23 to 27, 2021 via Zoom Meeting.
The 10-day training-workshop was conceptualized and conducted to target the issues which students and teachers encountered during the pandemic. It was mainly divided into four sessions which started from laying down the foundations of teaching, learning, and assessment, and ended with a workshop where instructors of general education courses constructed/ updated course syllabi, learning plans, and course guides.
Central to the topics discussed was the change in the implementation of instruction from face to face to distance/virtual learning which necessitates adjustment in assessment procedures as well as competency in digital media and content.
Lectures were given by esteemed resource speakers from Commission on Higher Education Region 1, La Salle Greenhills, Philippine College of Northwestern Luzon, Urdaneta City University, Saint Louis University, University of the Cordilleras, and Mariano Marcos State University.
A total of 7 resource speakers were invited by the facilitators to review and re-equip the participants with context-specific instructions and assessments in the virtual and distance-based classrooms.
Meanwhile, a total of 50 faculty members were divided into break-out sessions based on their field of specialization to re-equip themselves with the perennial points of the seminar and to reflect on their best practices in the conduct of flexible learning.
Overall, the flow of the training workshop was commended by the resource speakers as well as the participants, and it was recommended that more of this kind be conducted for instructors to have an avenue to talk about their instructional issues and recalibrate themselves with the best practices. (Leonardo Buyan, Jr.)
Photo credits | Alexander Soria